


Dreams unwind

by polaroidkid



Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Happy, Hurt/Comfort, maybe a bit dark at first
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-20 10:10:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16553813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polaroidkid/pseuds/polaroidkid
Summary: In which a little girl makes a mistake that leads to something bigger. (or, in other words: countess anise and queen jennah accidentally adopt an orphan because anise fucked around and got attached)





	Dreams unwind

Melody was running through the alleys of Divinity's Reach, her footstops sounding too loud for her liking, and looked for a hiding spot. The orphan didn't like having to look for a hiding spot, nor did she like having to run from people – when she stole food, she usually did it well enough not to be noticed – but due to unfortunate circumstances, it did not seem like she had any say in that matter. Her persecutor (persecutors?) hadn't let go for a whole while, and frankly, Melody's legs were getting sore and she had trouble catching her breath. She wasn't exceptionally fast, and still small, even for her age. Her size was useful for geting into small spaces, but when there were no small spaces around, that was worth nothing. She knew Divinity's Reach like the inside of her coat pocket, but it didn't help that whoever it was pursuing her seemed to have a habit of appearing right where she wanted to go. Either way, she had to hide, and hide fast.

 

She turned a quick corner and kept running. At this point, she had lost track of where she was exactly. Somewhere in Rurikton, for sure, but the mix of panic and exhaustion had her thoughts muddled. The hole in the wall or the empty barrell she usually went to for hiding were nowhere near, and she couldn't afford to stop and rationally think about where to go. And this is how she got herself running straight into a dead end. She kept running, mostly because her legs just wouldn't stop, until she almost crashed into the wall and jumped back in surprise. Tears shot to her eyes as she stumbled a few more steps backwards, nervously eyeing the surrounding houses and walls for a possible escape. Melody'd survived the Orphanage burning down when she was barely 8, she wouldn't get thrown into jail now! Maybe if she backed out really quickly, or maybe if they had already lost her, then she would -

 

Her last shimmer of hope was erased when two slender arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her off the ground and into the air. Melody immediately started trashing her legs and arms around in an attempt to get some wiggle space, trying to turn into a cat-like liquid, but her capturer was adamant. Before she managed to let out a cry, a gloved hand clasped in front of her mouth, the same moment more hands took a hold of her flailing arms and legs. She stopped resist in surprised and her eyes shot wide open, though the onset of dusk didn't let her see much. The only thing she was able to tell that the person – who somehow, while holding every part of her also stood in front of her - was certainly one of those she'd been watching earlier, of course – otherwise there'd be no reason to pursue her, and the shape didn.

 

Wiggling around as well as she was able to, the last few hours flashed before her mind's eye. She gladly would've taken remembering anything else over it, as she was certain her new 'home' would be a prison cell, given this wasn't her first offense, and once they'd pierced all of it together...

 

Curiosity killed the cat, and whether satisfaction really brought it back was, at this point, at the very least highly debatable. A few weeks ago (incidentally, while being chased) Melody had stumbled upon a rather strange discovery. Attempting a bold escape from an angry food vendor's assistant who didn't enjoy little girls trying to survive, she tripped over an uneven piece of plaster in the ground. That propelled her into a pile of barrells and through a hole in the wall she'd never noticed before. Turns out, she wasn't able to notice it at all, as it was simply covered up by a mesmer illusion. Lucky for her, the sheer force that made her rumble through it somehow didn't break it and sent the angry man rummaging through the toppled over pile. Giving up after a few minutes, he left, and she was safe.

 

Of course, this didn't stop Melody. Having lost her loaf of bread during the fall, she figured out it must've fallen deeper into the tunnel. She rubbed her knee and sucked in some air through clenched teeth. The tunnel smelled both like the musty, dark insides of a _tunnel_ and the streets of Divinity's Reach, a weird mixture of sweat and food and wetness and moist. Lit by the occassional torch and lined by the occasional fallen rock, it looked … overly inviting to a child's eye. _An adventure!,_ Melody thought, and got up, bravely venturing forward.

The tunnel, at first, went evenly forward with only a few steps and turns. Melody kept a tense back, halfway expecting someone to jump on her, and halfway ready to swat every single disgusting spider or bug that decided to land on her (the ants had already made a meal of her bread once she'd found it, so she had left it behind, leaving a bold sacrifice). After quite a bit of walking, the tunnel became steps, and climbing the narrow and steep steps led her right into the Palace.

 

Luckily for her, the room the small trapdoor let her to was no more than a small chamber, and – even better – currently unoccupied. At first, nothing led her to believe it was the Palace, but after thinking about possible places a secret pathway could lead to, Melody had gotten a hunch. Ignoring her aching legs and knees that had begun bleeding after her initial fall through the wall, she opened the (unlocked!) door just a bit and poked her small head through the opening. It confirmed that it was indeed the Palace, and, even better, an apparently unused wing of it. Melodys cheeks went red and her heart began to jump, but she supressed the urge to jump around and yell out in happiness. She'd found something, she'd found out something none of her friends knew! And for now, she'd keep it a secret!

 

From then on, Melody made it a hobby of her's, traipsing around the Palace grounds, avoiding traps and guards. She never took anything, the mere thought of it making her clear headed, and she never broke anything. Most of all, she just wanted to explore. Her friends kept asking her where she went and each time she'd just put on a big smile, telling them it's a secret and then jumping off. And so she spent her days either walking around, hiding, or even climbing on the outer walls. At first, she mainly kept to the less occupied places, until curiosity and bravery took a hold of her and she dared sneaking around where the people were. She heard some interesting gossip, but mostly nothing she understood or held onto. One time, she even almost saw the Queen, but she didn't catch a good glimpse because she had to hide to avoid getting caught. Of course, she was playing a dangerous game, but to her, that's what it was – no malicious intent; a game. And she was good at it!

 

Now, _today_ was just one of these days. After emerging from the storage room and making sure nobody would come around, she set off to climb around and eventually heard two distinct voices coming out of an unglassed window. Pondering for a second, Melody decided to climb up a little bit higher and rest on top of a platform right beneath the window. Being closer now, she was able to hear more, but none of it made any sense to here. Something about the Queen, and something about safety protocols... it was a smooth, female voice, and a raspy sounding male voice. Melody wasn't able to hear much, as shortly after her arrival they ceased speaking and then, the door slammed with a thud!, and it seemed to be over. Unfortunate for Melody, this meant she already had to take the climb back down – unless...

 

Waiting for a few moments, Melody eventually got out of her crouching position and instead stretched a little, to get a look inside the room. Looking inside she immediately spotted a serious looking, red headed woman that seemed vaguely familiar hunched over some papers on a desk... unfortunately face-side towards her. Melody froze, not daring to move an inch. Any false step would mean falling, and falling would mean... a few broken bones, at best, but she was _high_ up. Her knees began to shake and get mushy, and that was when the woman looked up. Everything in Melody's body screamed at her to climb back down, but instead she just stood there. The woman wasn't that slow to react and instead bolted over to the window, reaching out, and quickly pulling her inside. She was being held right under her arms and finally, her fight-and-flight instinct kicked in. Biting her lip, Melody raised her knee as quickly as possible and as high up as she could, kicking the woman right in her stomach. With a yelp of pain, she dropped her and Melody rolled on the floor, quickly getting back up and bolting out of the door. She quickly recognised where she was, luckily not too far away from her entrace place, just a flight above. Essentially tumbling down a set of stairs, past a sylvari that seemed uninterested in a small child rushing through the Palace halls pursued by who appeared to be a rather essential important person, she quickly made her way back into the secret pathway, running through it at a speed she'd never before been able to muster.

 

Now, that was how she ended up in the alley, held by multiple copies of the same woman who she simply didn't manage to evade with all her skills of a street rat. Having given up on resist, Melody eased up and waited for her fate to happen.  
  
„Will you scream if I let you down?“, the woman who had her arms wrapped around her waist asked, softly but in a smooth way that suggested bad things to happen should she not comply. Melody didn't answer because she couldn't.  
„Good. Don't kick me again“, said the woman, more like an order. The other women dispersed into purple butterflies, off into the night, and the grip on her legs and arms and the hand on her mouth disappeared. Just illusions. Just illusions. Tears began welling up in Melody's eyes, stronger this time, but she bit her lip as the woman more or less gently turned her around, and attempted to put on a strong face. Her red cheeks and huffed breathing weren't helping, and as the adrenaline slowly wore off, she began to notice how cold it had gotten, too. Melody looked up, her chin forward to appear stronger and the woman kneeled down a bit to be at her height, hands firmly pressed onto her shoulders, as if to keep her locked to the ground. Her knees became shaky again and she crossed her arms in front of her chest, tightly, to keep herself warm. She gulped. The womans eyes were somehow both green and blue and so cold, and restless, Melody couldn't keep eye contact for long and instead tried to focus on her nose and mouth. Despite the hunt having gone one for quite some time, she somehow didn't seem out of breath or hurried at all.

The woman sighed.

„You know who I am, don't you.“  
Melody focused again.  
Of course she did, it just hadn't reached her brain through all the fuss and the panic. She gulped and finally stopped looking at her face entirely, trying to find any other focal point.  
„Y-you're the Countess A-anise“, she muttered, voice shaky, as her heart sank. Countess Anise, leader of the Shining Blade.  
She'd be thrown into jail now, for sure, like her father was when she was just a baby, her mother long gone, and that's were she'd rot and die. Just as her father did.  
„Correct. And just _who_ are you-“ - the Countess' voice somehow grew colder, and seemed to pierce the air -„that you little thing are _on the Palace walls_? A spy? Who's your handler?“  
Melody gulped. She took in a breath, but the oncoming tears made it hard, and it sounded shaky and painful. Through the gloves, fingernails dug into her shoulders.  
„It'll be easier on you if you spill it this instant.“  
Melody began crying, hot tears spilling over her face. The Countess sighed again, but just before she could speak, the words just so began to came out of her.  
„NobodyismyhhandlerIwasjustdoingthisfoforffunanDPLEASEDONTTHROWMEINTOJAILIPROMISEIWONTDOITEVERAGAINPLEASE-“

  
„ShUSH! Shush. Please!“ The Countess eyes grew wide in surprise for a second, but then she regained her composure, voice momentarily becoming soft. Very quiet, and very soft. One hand gripped Melody's chin, lifting it up and forcing eye contact. Melody kept crying, but quiet now.  
  
„What did you just say? You did it for fun?“  
„Yyyes I fofoundasecretpathwaytthreeweeksagoand-“

„ _Three_ weeks ago?“  
„Yees please dont throw me into jail“  
„ _Nobody_ is going to throw you into jail. How long ago did you say?“  
„Three weeks.“  
„And you've been sneaking around the palace for that long?“  
Melody gulped.  
„Y-yes, Co-countess.“

„Are you _sure_ you did it on your own accord?“  
Melody nodded. The Countess paused, and sighed, again. She let go off her chin.  
„Hm. Interesting.“  
Melody rubbed her chin and wiped away some of her tears. At this point, she was shocked out of crying again. The Countess could be lying, but Melody really wanted to believe she wouldn't die in prison.  
„What did you say your name was, child?“  
„M-melody.“  
„Hm.“

The Countess straightened, letting go of her shoulders. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes in contemplation for a moment. Melody was too perplexed to start running.  
„... are you really not going to throw me into jail?“, she asked meekly, more squeaking than speaking and sniffled.  
The Countess opened her eyes again, looked at the girl, and began smiling, softly but with a certain edge to it before she grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it. She held onto it, obviously planning to take her with her.  
  
„Come along now, little lamb. Perhaps I got other plans for you.“


End file.
